Australia set to sizzle with temperatures up to 44 degrees

Mark Furler is APN Australian Regional Media’s group digital editor. He’s an award-winning journalist who has lived and worked on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast for more than 25 years. He’s passionate about fighting for a better go for locals. His awards include APN Editor of the Year, and involvement in three PANPA Newspaper of the Year wins for the Sunshine Coast Daily.

Maroochydore on the Sunshine Coast will have highs of 31 and 32 degrees later in the week.

Longreach can expect 39, while in Ipswich it will be 37 to 38 degrees later in the week.

The heatwave will be caused by a large high pressure system moving across from Western Australia.

Sydney CBD is forecast to hit 38C by Friday with some western suburbs likely to be in the 40s, Weatherzone reported.
Bourke in the states north west is expecting 43C.

Storm warning issued in Queensland

Meanwhile in Queensland, the weather bureau issued a storm warning just after 1pm, for people in the Central Coast and Whitsundays, Central Highlands and Coalfields and parts of the Northern Goldfields and Upper Flinders, Herbert and Lower Burdekin, Central West, Capricornia and Maranoa and Warrego Forecast Districts.

"Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging winds, heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding and large hailstones in the warning area over the next several hours. Locations which may be affected include Charleville, Emerald, Clermont, Mackay, Proserpine, and Charters Towers. "